A fighter of truth, justice, and the power of the human spirit; a masked hero fights with his fists, acting as a beacon of hope. While possibly not the brightest, as a team, Masked Heroes can be a raging inferno of energy.

A Masked Hero is a powerful fist-fighter in the same vein as Monks and Un-Armed Variant Swordsages. A Hero can hit hard and fast, though doesn't have the most hit-points. While unable to wear armor, they can still withstand a few hits before dying. A Masked Hero could probably use a character to support them with healing spells or buffs, so a Wizard/Sorcerer or a Cleric. A Masked Hero can usually take the place of your heavy-hitter, though most cannot tank.

Abilities:
Strength is quite useful for a Masked Hero, allowing them to fill in as an offensive class. However, do to their less-than-best hit dice and inability to wear armor, Constitution is a useful stat as well. Though no stat is useless to the Masked Hero, Knowledge is your least useful stat.

Races:
Any race can be a Masked Hero, usually to humorous effect. While a Half-Orc would be less inteligent and his voice would be inarticulate, he would be an interesting member of the team, regardless. Gender also does not play into becoming a Masked Hero, nor does it affect Variants. Humans make the best Masked Heroes consistently, but Humans ARE The master race.

Alignment:
Historically, Masked Heroes are Any Good. However, Evil Masked Heroes are possible, usually referred to as Dark Heroes. As a Hero's power is derived from passion, a Hero can never be Lawful Neutral, True Neutral, or Chaotic Neutral.

The Masked Hero is not proficient in any weapons or armor, relying solely on unarmed strikes and natural armor.

Unarmed Strike: At 1st level, a Masked Hero gains Improved Unarmed Strike as a free feat. A Masked Hero's attacks may be with either fist interchangeably or even from elbows, knees, and feet. This means that a Masked Hero may even make unarmed strikes with her hands full. There is no such thing as an off-hand attack for a Masked Hero striking unarmed. A Masked Hero may thus apply her full Strength bonus on damage rolls for all her unarmed strikes.

Usually a Masked Hero’s unarmed strikes deal lethal damage, but she can choose to deal nonlethal damage instead with no penalty on her attack roll. She has the same choice to deal lethal or nonlethal damage while grappling.

A Masked Hero’s unarmed strike is treated both as a manufactured weapon and a natural weapon for the purpose of spells and effects that enhance or improve either manufactured weapons or natural weapons.

A Masked Hero also deals more damage with her unarmed strikes than a normal person would. Please check with the Monk table for the amount of damage you will do, per size category.

Suit Up For a Masked Hero to activate their Hero Armor and Hero Fist abilities, they have to suit up. Suiting up is a spontaneous summon of their weapons and armor, directly onto their person. However, it takes a standard action to get ready. Without it, the Masked Hero deals normal Unarmed Damage and has no Natural Armor. They will also not be able to use their Colour abilities.

When a Masked Hero hits the 5th level, they get Improved Suit Up, which turns it into a Free Action.

Hero Armor A Masked Hero has a handcrafted suit of armor that can be summoned at will. It is treated as Magical, even when it has no enchantments. It takes up the Armor and Helmet slot, and has a base Armor Class of 3. However, the Armor gains AC equal to half the Masked Hero's Base Attack Bonus (rounded up). A Masked Hero can still buy magical items, but can not wear armor over their Hero Armor. For all intents and purposes, the Hero Armor is Weightless.

Hero Fist This is the Masked Hero's weapon. Similar to a gauntlet, the Hero Fist lies flat against the hero's skin, almost like a second layer of skin. It is treated as magical, even when it has no enchantments. The Hero Fist (at the start) can not be upgraded. The Hero Fist is considered part of the Hero Armor, and can not be removed from the suit.

Upgradable Armor (Ex) At the 2nd Level, a Masked Hero can begin to Enchant their armor, similar to any other piece of Armor. The standard rate for paying for the enchantments still apply.

Upgradable Fist (Ex) At the 3rd Level, a Masked Hero can begin to Enchant their Hero Fist, similar to any other weapon. The standard rate for paying for the enchantments still apply.

Colour Shift (Su) At the 3rd Level, a Masked Hero can choose a colour for their armor, which bestows upon it a temporary ability. The ability lasts for 5 turns, at which point the armor returns to its standard colour, as decided upon by the wearer. A Colour Shift has to be prepared before combat, and can be stored for up to 24 hours. A Masked Hero has Colour Shifts equal to the user's level divided by 3, rounded down. The Colours are Red, Yellow, Blue, and Green.

Red Colour Shift A Red Colour Shift grants the user a temporary boost of 4 Strength and allows the Masked Hero to use the Monk ability 'Flurry of Blows' freely during the duration of the shift.

When Upgraded once, a Masked Hero can use the feat Evasion while in Colour Shift.

Evasion (Ex): With one upgrade in the Red Colour Shift, if a Masked Hero makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, it'll instead takes no damage. A helpless Masked does not gain the benefit of evasion.

When Upgraded twice, a Masked Hero can use the feat Improved Evasion while in Colour Shift.

Improved Evasion (Ex): With two upgrades in the Red Colour Shift, a Masked Hero’s evasion ability improves. It still takes no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks, but henceforth it takes only half damage on a failed save. A helpless Masked Hero still does not gain the benefit of improved evasion.

When Upgraded three times, a Masked Hero can use the ability Abundant Step while in Colour Shift.

Abundant Step (Su): With three upgrades in the Red Colour Shift, a Masked Hero can slip magically between spaces, as if using the spell dimension door, once per day. Its caster level for this effect is one-half its Masked Hero level (rounded down).

When Upgraded four times, a Masked Hero can use the ability Helios Drop while in Colour Shift.

Helios Drop (Ex): When Red Colour Shift is Upgraded four times, a Masked Hero can strike from the heavens with the sheer power of passion. Besides doing a full attack, the target also takes 8d6 Crush damage. If the target is also unable to beat the Masked Hero in a Strength Check, the target is also on fire for 1d6 rounds.

When Upgraded five times, a Masked Hero can use the ability Burning Heart while in Colour Shift.

Burning Heart (Ex): When Red Colour Shift is Upgraded five times, a Masked Hero can strike their foes with an Earth-shattering blow. The Masked Hero does a Full Attack, each punch also carrying 4d6 fire damage. The Masked Hero also gains +5 on their attack roll. The target must pass a DC15 + Masked Hero Level or be lit on fire for 1d6 rounds. This attack can be used once per day and can not be combined with Flurry. This attack can only be used once per day, and doing so requires a 5 turn recharge where the Masked Hero loses their Hero Armor AC Bonus.

Yellow Colour Shift A Yellow Colour Shift grants the user the ability to attack at a range. The user has a 30 foot range and can make ranged Touch Attacks, similar to their Unarmed Strike. The Colour Shift also temporarily raises the Masked Hero's Attack Roll by +2.

Blue Colour Shift A Blue Colour Shift grants the user a boost in both Constitution and Armor Class. The Con boost is worth 4 points, and the Armor Class increase is the Hero's new Con Modifier.

Green Colour Shift A Green Colour Shift grants the user the Rogue's Sneak Attack ability for five turns. Furthermore, the Masked Hero also gains Trapfinding for the duration of the change.

First Colour (Ex) This is where a Masked Hero picks up his or her first Colour. You don't have to stick with one of them forever, though sticking with one each time you upgrade will make it stronger.

At the 6th level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

At the 9th level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

At the 12th level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

At the 15th level,a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

At the 18th Level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

Slow Fall (Ex) At 4th level or higher, a Masked Hero within arm’s reach of a wall can use it to slow his or her descent. When first using this ability, they take damage as if the fall were 20 feet shorter than it actually is. The Masked Hero’s ability to slow their fall (that is, to reduce the effective distance of the fall when next to a wall) improves with her Masked Hero level.

Purity of Body (Ex): At 6th level, a Masked Hero gains immunity to all diseases except for supernatural and magical diseases.

Wholeness of Body (Su): At 8th level or higher, a Masked Hero can heal their own wounds. They can heal a number of hit points of damage equal to twice his or her current Masked Hero level each day, and they can spread this healing out among several uses.

Power Armor (Ex): Upon attaining the 9th level, a Masked Hero's Hero Armor upgrades. The Masked Hero can take one of the following abilities to use as part of their upgraded armor.

Water Walk (Su): The Masked Hero can tread on any liquid as if it were firm ground. Mud, oil, snow, quicksand, running water, ice, and even lava can be traversed easily, since the subjects’ feet hover an inch or two above the surface. (Masked Heroes crossing molten lava still take damage from the heat because they are near it.) The subjects can walk, run, charge, or otherwise move across the surface as if it were normal ground.

Fly (Su): The Masked Hero can fly at a speed of 60 feet (or 40 feet if it carries a medium or heavy load). It can ascend at half speed and descend at double speed, and its maneuverability is good. Flying requires only as much concentration as walking, so the subject can attack or cast spells normally. The subject can charge but not run, and it cannot carry aloft more weight than its maximum load.

True Seeing (Su): The Masked Hero can see all things as they actually are. The subject sees through normal and magical darkness, notices secret doors hidden by magic, sees the exact locations of creatures or objects under blur or displacement effects, sees invisible creatures or objects normally, sees through illusions, and sees the true form of polymorphed, changed, or transmuted things. Further, the subject can focus its vision to see into the Ethereal Plane (but not into extradimensional spaces). The range of true seeing conferred is 120 feet.

True seeing, however, does not penetrate solid objects. It in no way confers X-ray vision or its equivalent. It does not negate concealment, including that caused by fog and the like. True seeing does not help the viewer see through mundane disguises, spot creatures who are simply hiding, or notice secret doors hidden by mundane means. In addition, the spell effects cannot be further enhanced with known magic, so one cannot use true seeing through a crystal ball or in conjunction with clairaudience/clairvoyance.

Diamond Body (Su): At 11th level, a Masked Hero gains immunity to poisons of all kinds.

Hero Time (Ex): At 12th level, a Masked hero can tap into the sheer power of their heroism and channel it into their attacks. Hero Time costs three Colour Shifts, and lasts for as long as a normal Colour Shift. During this time, a Masked Hero can add 1/2 (rounding down) of their Base Attack Bonus to their Damage Rolls. When the five turns are over, the effect wears off and the Hero has to 'recharge'. During this time, he or she can not Colour Shift and also takes a deduction of 1/4 (rounding down) of their Base Attack Bonus to their Damage Rolls.

Diamond Soul (Ex): At 13th level, a Masked Hero gains spell resistance equal to his orher current Masked Hero level + 10. In order to affect the Masked Hero with a spell, a spellcaster must get a result on a caster level check (1d20 + caster level) that equals or exceeds the Masked Hero’s spell resistance.

Persist Colour (Ex): At 15th level, a Masked Hero can choose to lose their ability to Colour Shift and instead resort to using only one Colour. In exchange, the Hero has an unlimited charge on their Colour of choice. However, if a Persist Colour Hero uses Hero Time, they will still have to Recharge in Neutral Colour Shift.

Timeless Body (Ex): Upon attaining 18th level, a Masked Hero no longer takes penalties to his or her ability scores for aging and cannot be magically aged. Any such penalties that they has already taken, however, remain in place. Bonuses still accrue, and the Masked Hero still dies of old age when his or her time is up.

Perfect Self: At 20th level, a Masked Hero becomes a magical creature. He/She is forevermore treated as an outsider rather than as a humanoid (or whatever the Masked Hero’s creature type was) for the purpose of spells and magical effects. Additionally, the Masked Hero gains damage reduction 10/magic, which allows it to ignore the first 10 points of damage from any attack made by a nonmagical weapon or by any natural attack made by a creature that doesn’t have similar damage reduction. Unlike other outsiders, the Masked Hero can still be brought back from the dead as if it were a member of her previous creature type.

If a character quits being a Masked Hero, has their identity become public, or becomes Neutral, they lose access to their Colour abilities, Armor, and improved combat abilities. Their are, in effect, a normal person again.

At 21st level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

At 24th level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

Improved Hero Time (Ex): At 24th level, a Masked hero can pull energy from all living things and channel it into their attacks. Improved Hero Time costs five Colour Shifts, and lasts for as long as a normal Colour Shift. During this time, a Masked Hero can add their full Base Attack Bonus to their Damage Rolls. When the five turns are over, the effect wears off and the Hero has to 'recharge'. During this time, he or she can not Colour Shift and also takes a deduction of 1/2 (rounding down) of their Base Attack Bonus to their Damage Rolls.

At 27th level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

At 30th level, a Masked Hero can either pick up another Colour or upgrade one he or she already has.

Religion: Masked Heroes worship as they please, but they tend to worship gods of Law or Justice (or in the case of Dark Heroes, Chaos or Evil.) some have their religion fuel their passion, derived from the ideals of the chosen god or dogma, but it's not uncommon for a Masked Hero to not worship any god, simply choosing that her passion comes from their belief in other people, or the desire to protect others.

Other Classes: Masked Heroes get along well most classes, especially with clerics, appreciating the healing and buffs that they can provide based on their domain, the support in combat, and if a cleric is non-neutral, appreciate their passion in Ideals. Bards for the same reason. Rogues also are nice partners for Masked Heroes, because of their multitude of skills and their ability to be what the masked hero isn't most of the time; subtle.

Combat: Combat for a masked hero varies; in Neutral Shift and Red Shift, they are typically on the front lines being your heavy hitters, but they can't take too much damage themselves. while Blue Shifts can find themselves in the middle ground, typically being human shields for the infamously "squishy" Sorcerers and Wizards. Yellow Shifts Find themselves in the middle as well, dealing touch damage on heavy armored opponents. Green Shifts find themselves filling a similar niche as a Rogue with their stealthy attacks.

Advancement: Masked Heroes benefit most from staying a Masked Hero her full career, but dependent on which "shift" he persists as (or at least uses the most) this can vary, but Across the board he collectively benefits from cross classing into a Fighter for the bonus feats, as do "Red" Heroes. "Blue" Heroes find themselves easily settled as a Cleric or Paladin for the healing and support spells to help them continue fighting. "Yellow" Heroes tend to benefit from cross-classing into any magic-based class for the spells. Finally, Green heroes fit well as any Rogue-styled class for extra sneak attack bonus, as well as gaining evasion (which is exclusive to the Red hero, normally.)

.Quicker than the winds and as still as the forest! Hotter than flames and more Magnificent than a Mountain!

”

—Bang Shishigami, Human Masked Hero

<-Where characters of this class fit in a d20 world.->

Daily Life: No matter whether one is a Masked Hero or Dark Hero, they always spend their everyday lifes acting like normal civilians, trying to keep their identity hidden, and constantly dodging suspicion.

Notables: <-notable NPCs of this class->.

Organizations: Masked Heroes usually are either loners who fight their own way for their own Ideals, or the band together with one or more to form a small party under a single name.

NPC Reactions: NPC's, dependent on a Masked Hero's (or Dark Hero's) Fame (or Infamy), will either cheer their name, or run in fear, knowing that they are capable of, NPCs who are particularly nosy might follow the masked hero around until they find out their true identity.

Characters with ranks in <-the appropriate skills-> can research Masked Heroes to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

<-the appropriate skills->

DC

Result

5

A masked hero is a mysterious person who gains their power from passion.

10

A Masked Hero usually can change colors, each color with their own special powers

15

If a Masked Hero's identity is revealed to the public, then they lose their powers.